20140814

Starting Uni in September? 5 Essential Tips

(Image via: birmingham.ac.uk)

5. Be You

This sounds super cheesy but you're going to a new city where no one knows you so the best thing you can be is you. There's going to be so many people that you're bound to find friends who like you when you're being yourself. If you try to embellish the truth and reinvent yourself it'll come back to bite you.

4. Get Involved

My major regret from university was not getting involved with societies. I think I tried to spread myself too thinly and ended up doing nothing! Choose a few things and commit to them. Especially at the start of the year it's not big deal to go to something on your own; you'll meet people there who you have at least one thing in common with!

3. Get to Know People

If you don't get on with your housemates you're forced to get out there and meet new people, but if you do you can end up limiting yourself. You should try and meet as many people as possible and have friends who live with you, friends who share your interests and friends on your course; don't only engage with one group. It's hard when you're on a low-contact course like I was, but I connected with one of my now best friends just because we'd been sat near each other for months and one time she asked me if I wanted to get a coffee after lectures. It's hard to make that transition from 'people you see in lectures' to 'friends' but if you don't make the effort to hang out with people outside of an academic setting you'll never know.

2. Grow Up

This is a little controversial but I think it's important to live out of home for at least one year during university; there are essential life skills you can't get when you're at home and your mum still does your ironing for you! You have to learn to deal with your own money, have crazy times and just fly the nest. It should be a transition between college and 'the real world' so try and experience as much as possible and be as independent as you can be. This is why I really recommend a big-city Redbrick; you have an entire new city to explore, amazing nightlife and a university with a great reputation.

1. Work Hard!

It sounds boring but you need to put some work in! Getting into good habits in First Year will do you well in the long-run, even if it doesn't count towards your degree. I somehow managed to go out three or four times a week and still average a First in my First Year, so there's a definitely a balance! Don't let one bad grade get you down; it's hard to gauge how much work you need to do and how much fun you can have at the same time. At the end of the day you're there to get a degree and, with how much those of you about to go into First Year are paying, don't let that be an afterthought!Good luck to everyone off to university in September! They were the three most amazing and important years of my life and I'm sure you'll have a bumpy but incredible ride :)Jasmine x